^^^
I agree with Christopher that actual Byrne art is always most welcome. I also agree with Relayer1 that this is an interesting experiement on the part of IDW. Maybe it won't work, but I gotta give them credit for trying something new/different.

But with Byrne art it would just be another Trek comic, no matter how good. This way it really does seem to be photobooks of 'lost' episodes.

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I'm sorry, but I just don't see Photoshop collages as a step up from original artwork. Especially not artwork by the likes of Byrne. It would feel less disappointing if someone else were doing it, someone who isn't known as an acclaimed artist.

But with Byrne art it would just be another Trek comic, no matter how good. This way it really does seem to be photobooks of 'lost' episodes.

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I'm sorry, but I just don't see Photoshop collages as a step up from original artwork. Especially not artwork by the likes of Byrne. It would feel less disappointing if someone else were doing it, someone who isn't known as an acclaimed artist.

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I actually agree with you - it doesn't need someone like Byrne to put the photo's together, it's a waste of his talent. Anyone (within reason) could do that - it should be someone else. However, if he's writing the story, that is a different matter, that may be worthy of his involvement.

"... building new scenes by compositing different elements together"is a legitimate artform, though. If artist Byrne is playing with computer techniques to create new art, I'm thrilled he's made Trek his new guinea pig!

Way too often, people complain here about "lazy" Photoshopped novel covers. This comic seems to be many steps ahead of that game.

"... building new scenes by compositing different elements together"is a legitimate artform, though. If artist Byrne is playing with computer techniques to create new art, I'm thrilled he's made Trek his new guinea pig!

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Byrne has been using computer manipulations as part of his art technique since the early 90s, from computer lettering to photo backgrounds. This project sounds like he's taking it that to the next level.

It does seem a kind of weird idea, but I am aware of the photonovel novelizations of TOS episodes from the 70s, my uncle once showed me the ones he still has. I guess if one remembers those, this could play off the nostalgia factor. I don't know, it might be interesting but I'm not getting too excited over it yet.

The fact that CBS signed off on this gives me hope that they'll let the licenses pursue other off-beat concepts. Why more hasn't been done with the Quogs-style Star Trek I don't understand. There should be Quogs-style illustrated books for young readers, kid-friendly comics, etc. Make something for the younger crowd, nurture and grow the next generation (pun intended) of Star Trek fans.

^I'm sure photo collage, like any other artistic medium, requires talent, practice, and a good eye to do well. We've all seen bad photoshop jobs as well as near-flawless ones.

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Yeah, there are bad sequential artists out there. People who can draw often have no idea how to make a story flow, and I once skimmed some Transformers photocomics in the store that were awful in terms of communicating story... and they had an actual episode to borrow their stills from! Byrne has skills.

Make something for the younger crowd, nurture and grow the next generation (pun intended) of Star Trek fans.

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Totally agree. We have many members of this board who, as children, got their interest in Trek kindled by early prime time, stripped episodes of TOS in 70s syndication, or by Filmation's TAS, or by the TNG "Young Adult" Starfleet Academy novels. It's been a long time between drinks.

Well, there did seem to be some original background art in the samples, specifically another angle of the lithium-cracking station's exterior behind the landing party. That looked like a CGI image. And of course the characters are newly composited against sets they never occupied onscreen, at least not in those uniforms.

I do wonder, though, if these stories will all be limited to featuring characters we've seen onscreen, and extensively enough that there are a lot of angles of them to choose from. What will Byrne do if he has to introduce a new character?

^I'm sure photo collage, like any other artistic medium, requires talent, practice, and a good eye to do well. We've all seen bad photoshop jobs as well as near-flawless ones.

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Trust me, it's not as easy as it sounds. When I was in High School I took a Media Productions class where we used Photoshop extensively, and we'd spend entire classes working on one photo. If you have multiple sources, with different lighting, color saturation, ect. you can spend hours trying to blend things seamlessly, and that's only working with preexisting sources, if you have to create anything for it can take a lot longer. Hell, there were times in the class where I'd be blending things pixel by pixel trying to make them seamless, and that can take forever.